TH6.1: The Storm's Questions

BY REBEKAH WALTER

When I reflect on the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, it is honestly difficult for me to decide who I am more angry with about what occurred: President Bush or God. Public debate surrounding the hurricane places President Bush at the top of a hierarchy of blame – and for good reason. The appalling lack of attention and aid to New Orleans is inexcusable, and accusations that this failure was caused by racism and classism deserve extensive consideration. Yet despite the President’s messianic claims to authority, even Bush would admit that he cannot control nature.

For me, this raises an uncomfortable and important question that we often hesitate to ask: if God is omnipotent, isn’t God ultimately to blame for the hurricane? The question of God’s role in natural disasters is one of the most difficult for theodicy and Hurricane Katrina demonstrates why. While it is easy to point to human injustices that occurred in the hurricane’s aftermath, what do we have to say about a God who set the hurricane into motion? How can an omnipotent God not only allow, but be the cause of such suffering? How can God have a preferential option for the poor when the hurricane claimed a disproportionate number of impoverished people of color?

There are, of course, no easy answers – for theology necessarily (and thankfully) requires the space for the deep, even infinite mystery of the divine. While it is important to not let theological reflection on these questions lead to a paralysis of analysis or faith, the question of why God would allow unjust suffering is of critical importance to those claiming to have a liberating God.

Rebekah Walter is a second-year MA student.